Erica Enders ready to make NHRA history this weekend at Houston’s Royal Purple Raceway

If all goes as planned, NHRA Pro Stock driver Erica Enders could become the first woman in NHRA history to earn her first career Pro Stock victory at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown.

Enders, who is a native of Houston, will be competing in her GK Motorsports Chevrolet Cobalt at this weekend’s NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals.

The 28-year old driver recently raced to her sixth career final round at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C. two weeks ago. This weekend she is hoping to keep the momentum going at her home track.

“I am really excited about the direction things are going,” Enders said. “I have a really great race car right now and probably the best team in the business right now. We are very optimistic and excited.”

Enders has been riding a wave of success the past two seasons in the NHRA Pro Stock division. Last year, she scored three final rounds appearances and three No. 1 qualifying positions en route to becoming the first female to finish in the top 10 in Pro Stock in NHRA history.

Erica Enders will be aiming for her first career victory in the NHRA Pro Stock class at this weekend's O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway Park. (NHRA photo).

“Last year I had an incredible season,” Enders said. “I’m just ready to get this monkey off my back. Since we have figured out as many possible ways that there are to lose, we are bound to win one of these races soon.”

Enders added, “I am very hopefully that we will get our first win this weekend. We have a really great race car right now. It’s consistent and really competitive and I’ve been driving really well. In any given week a lot of people have said that we just need a little bit of luck to fall our way. I’m a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and there is a plan bigger than mine. It will come when it is supposed to and week in and week out we are capable of winning any race that we enter.”

Enders has raced to four final rounds in the last 19 races and during that time she has maintained an average launch time of .029 seconds over the last two races, including lights of .017 and .016 in the semifinals and finals, respectively, in Charlotte.

“The first two races didn’t start out as we had planned, but fortunately with the Countdown, we will be all right through the rest of the year,” Enders said. “We have really picked it up and had a semi final finish and finished as the runner up last weekend in Charlotte.”

Enders is currently ranked sixth in the point standings and trails points leader Greg Anderson by 186 points. Jason Line is ranked second, followed by Mike Edwards in third, Allen Johnson in fourth and Vincent Nobile in fifth.

“I’d like to be higher in the point standings,” Enders said. “However, I’m not disappointed where we are at all, because there are a lot of big names behind us.”

Enders said the NHRA Pro Stock class is considered one of the toughest classes on the circuit. Often the qualifying and finishing times are separated by only a few hundredths of a second.

“It’s crazy how close it is each week with the 16-car field in our class,” Enders said. “The guys that we race against are championship-caliber drivers and many of them have won championships before. We have to battle week in and week out and every round matters. I am honored to have my name on a list with theirs.”

Enders said she is excited to return to Seth Angel’s Royal Purple Raceway, a track where she won her first junior dragster race at when she was eight years old. Her rise to fame and her life story was even featured in the Disney movie, Right on Track.

“I love this track,” Enders said. “I grew up there watching my dad race and I raced junior dragsters there at the age of eight, so this year will be my 20th year to race at that track. It’s nice to be able to come home. I’ve had much success at that track and I am hoping that it will continue.”

Enders said she knows how to win in NHRA competition at Royal Purple Raceway. In 2004, she won her first NHRA Title there in the Super Gas division.

“In order to get a win at this track it takes consistency on the part of the car and on me driving,” Enders said. “The car has been great and it’s so cut throat, because every single time you get in the car it has to be almost perfect. You have to get out there and just kill it every single time.”

SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.

TICKETS: Tickets are available for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. For tickets, please call Royal Purple Raceway at (281) 383-7223 or visit www.RoyalPurpleRaceway.com.

ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, April 28. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three-hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, April 29.

LUCAS OIL SERIES: The O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on April 27. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on April 28 and continue through April 29.

PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will be featured at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles, in quarter-mile competition. Two rounds of qualifying will be held on April 27, with one additional round of qualifying on April 28 followed by the first round of eliminations. Eliminations continue on Sunday, April 29.

ON THE WEB: Fans can get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at http://www.nhra.com/. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter too.